


The Next Generation

by Jellybean96



Series: 25 Days of Skyeward [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 25 Days of Skyeward, Christmas, F/M, Family, Fluff, Kid Fic, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-09 20:05:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12895716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: It's Christmas time and Jessica is proving she wants to be just like her daddy





	The Next Generation

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! Back again for day 3 of this wonderful Skyeward Christmas holiday. This particular one is actually the sequel of sorts to another story that I wrote two years ago, entitled "New Beginning". It's not completely necessary to read that one first, but it will give you a little background knowledge before diving into this one.
> 
> I've actually had this one written for a while, I was just waiting for the right opportunity to share it. And now I have. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Making his way through the downstairs hallway of their two-story home and out toward the living room, Grant stops in the doorway and leans in, looking over to where his wife is sitting on the couch nursing their two month old son. "Hey Skye, have you seen Jess anywhere?"

Skye looks up and over her shoulder. "Isn't she in the bathroom?" she asks her husband.

Grant shakes his head, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Um, no, she isn't."

"Did she run off after you gave her a bath and got her dressed again?" she asks with a sigh.

He sighs himself and nods his head. "Yes. Somehow Max got into the bathroom so I left for a minute to put him back in his kennel. When I got back to the bathroom Jess was gone. I thought she would have gone straight to her room, but she isn't there."

She glances down at her son, shifting him up onto her shoulder to burp him. She looks back up at her husband. "Well keep looking for her, please; it's almost time for her to go to bed."

"I know, that's why I'm trying to find her." He turns around and makes his way up the staircase.

"Find her quickly, please," Skye calls out to him, turning her attention back to the baby in her arms.

"Jess?" Grant calls out. "Jess, where are you, angel?"

Hearing soft noises coming from the end of the hallway he walks down and peeks his head into his and Skye's room, finding Jessica sitting in the middle of the carpeted floor, dressed in her pajamas with her long damp hair hanging down her back, leaving a water spot right underneath; one of their family photo albums is lying open in her small lap.

"Hey there, angel." He smiles at the four year old as he steps into the room. "What are you doing?"

Jessica turns her head and smiles up at her dad. "Lookin at pictures."

"I can see that," he says, sitting down next to her and pulling the book into his lap. Jessica immediately leans up against his side. "Is this where you came after you escaped from the bathroom?" he asks her.

The little girl nods her head. "Uh-huh. Wanted to play hide-n-seek."

Grant nods. "Ah, I see. And how did you find these photo albums?"

"I 'member mommy talkin 'bout them to Auntie Jemma. She said she has so many of them."

Grant chuckles and nods. "She does have a lot of photo albums. And do you know why she has so many of them?"

"Why?"

"Because daddy won't stop talking pictures."

Grant and Jessica turn their heads to see Skye standing in the doorway to the bedroom, a small smile on her face as she leans against the doorframe.

Jessica smiles up at her. "Hi, mommy."

"Hi, angel." Skye smiles back, moving to sit down on the other side of her daughter. "I see you found one of the many photo albums I made from all the pictures that daddy takes."

"Mommy, why did you say daddy won't stop taking pictures? I like when daddy takes pictures. It's fun."

"I like it too, baby girl. I was just playing around when I said that. In fact, I actually love it when daddy takes pictures all the time."

"And you can blame your mom for me taking so many pictures all the time," Grant says to his daughter. "She's the one who gave me the camera that I use to take all my pictures with."

Jessica tilts her head. "Really?"

Grant nods his head. "Mm-hmm. It was the first Christmas we celebrated together, but we weren't dating yet, we were still just friends. And mommy got me a Polaroid camera as a present."

"Why?" Jessica asks.

"Because," Skye begins, "your daddy is very difficult to shop for. And I wasn't really sure at the time what things he liked. But I remembered a picture I saw of him at his Gramsy's house for Christmas when he was little, and how it was one of his favorite times. So I thought I'd get him a camera so he could take more pictures and make more memories like that one with people he cares about." She smiles down at her daughter, running a hand gently through her hair.

"Is that why daddy always has his camera everywhere?" Jessica asks. "And is always taking pictures of everything?"

Skye nods her head. "Yep. He's always taking pictures of everything."

"You know you love the pictures I take," Grant says to her with a smile.

She smiles back. "Of course I do. That's why I put them in photo albums so they're all safe in one place and we can look back at them and remember the stories."

"Will you tell me?" Jessica asks, gaining her parent's attention again.

Skye looks down at her daughter. "Tell you what, baby?"

"'Bout the pictures. Papa said pictures have stories. Like the ones 'bout Cap."

Skye sighs at Coulson's persistence to try and turn Jessica into as big of a Captain America fan as he is.

She nods her head with a smile. "Yes, Papa is right; every picture does have a story. We won't tell you every story, but we'll tell you a couple tonight before you go to bed. Which story do you want to hear about first?"

Jessica looks down at the photo album and flips through it. "This one." She points to the first photograph in the album, the one of Skye drinking champagne on that first New Year's celebration all those years ago.

Grant smiles as he pulls his daughter closer to him. "That is the very first picture of mommy that I ever took with my camera."

Jessica looks up at him. "Really?"

Grant nods his head. "Mm-hmm. It was New Years Eve and we were all getting ready to celebrate the ball dropping in New York. Your mom took a drink of her champagne just as the clock struck midnight and I snuck her photo when she wasn't looking."

"Did mommy get mad?" Jessica asks.

Grant chuckles and shakes his head. "No, she didn't get mad. She kissed me."

Jessica's eyes go wide. "She kissed you?"

He nods his head. "Yes she did. Right on my lips."

"Ew." Jessica scrunches up her nose, making her look just like Skye.

"It wasn't that gross," Skye tells her daughter. She smiles up at her husband. "It was actually very nice."

Grant smiles back. "And that's when mommy and I started dating."

"What about this one?" Jessica asks, pointing to another photo on a different page in the book. It shows Skye standing with a wide smile on her face, a poorly made crown sitting on her head, and a makeshift trophy held in her hands.

Grant chuckles as he looks at the photo. "That one is a really funny story. Mommy got into a prank war with Uncle Trip and Uncle Lance. Those three pulling pranks on each other at all hours of the day was always really crazy; everybody had to stay on high alert because we didn't know where or when the next prank was going to happen."

"Did mommy win?" Jessica asks. "'Cause she has a crown and a trophy. That's what you get when you win."

Skye nods her head. "I did win. Because I'm the best at pulling pranks."

"Although, I still don't think your last prank should have actually counted as a prank, but the look on Hunter's face was priceless either way," Grant tells her.

"What did you do, mommy?" Jessica asks eagerly.

"I made Uncle Lance and Uncle Trip think that they lost all the money in all of their bank accounts," Skye says to her daughter, smiling proudly.

Jessica eyes go wide. "You did?"

Skye nods her head. "Mm-hmm. Uncle Trip thought it was pretty funny after a second, but Uncle Lance was really mad. He thought it was real and that he had actually lost all of his money. Aunt Bobbi calmed him down and then he and Uncle Trip admitted that it was a good prank. So they named me the champion."

"And you got a crown and a trophy," Jessica states.

Skye nods. "Yes I did. But we didn't originally plan on having a crown and trophy, so your Uncle Fitz put something together for me. Your daddy took that picture right after they crowned me."

Jessica smiles. "Cool. What about this one?" She points to another photo in the album, closer to the back of the book.

Skye sighs. "This is the last one, okay? Then it's off to bed for you."

Jessica nods her head. "Okay."

Grant and Skye look down at the photo and smile to themselves. The photo is a silhouette of Skye while she's pregnant, standing near one of the windows on base and leaning against the wall sideways with her hands wrapped around a cup of tea.

"This one," Grant starts, "is probably one of my favorite pictures that I've ever taken of mommy."

"Why?" Jessica asks.

"Because that's when mommy still had you inside her tummy," Grant tells his daughter, poking her side making her smile and giggle. "And it was almost time for you to be here, so I wanted to get one last photo of you and mommy like this. Your mom didn't know I took that picture because she was walking around, trying to make you get here faster. She wasn't dressed up all fancy, and didn't have any make up on, but I never thought she looked more beautiful than she did in that moment, so I knew I had to take her picture."

"Wow." Jessica smiles up at her dad. "Another one," she says, quickly flipping through the photo album again to find another picture.

Skye shakes her head and takes the book from her daughter, closing it and holding it in her lap. "Nope, I said that was the last one. Now it's time for bed."

"But mommy..."

"Don't argue," Skye says. "Go on up to your room. Daddy and I will be there to say goodnight in just a few minutes."

Jessica sighs. "Fine." She stands up from the floor and makes her way out of the room and downstairs towards her own bedroom.

"Is that really one of your favorite pictures you've taken of me?" Skye asks her husband, standing up from the floor and holding the photo album in her arms.

Grant stands up and leans over to give her a kiss. "Of course it is," he says with a smile. He pulls back and looks down at her. "You always look beautiful to me no matter what."

"You are such a charmer." She laughs quietly. She puts the photo album back on its shelf before turning back to her husband. "Now come on," she says, grabbing his hand in hers and linking their fingers together, "I think someone is waiting for us to say goodnight to her."

"Well we wouldn't want to keep her waiting." He smiles, gently tugging her out the door and down the stairs toward their daughters' room.

.

.

.

"Mommy! Daddy! It's Christmas! Wake up! Wake up!" Jessica bounces excitedly on the end of the large bed, scooting closer to her parents as she does so.

Skye groans, shifting on the bed until she's on her back, cracking one eye open to look up at her daughter. "What time is it?"

"Time for presents!" Jessica exclaims, leaning over her mom. "Come on, mommy!"

"Grant, tell your daughter to stop being so loud." She rolls over and buries her face into her pillow.

Grant lets out a large yawn as he rolls over onto his back and stretches his arms out above his head. He opens his eyes and lets a small smile grace his lips when he sees his daughter. "Hey angel," he greets her.

Jessica smiles at him. "Hi, daddy. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Jess. Come here." He holds his arms open to her, letting her crawl across the bed and curl up against him.

"Daddy, can we open presents now?"

"Of course we can, Jess," he tells his daughter. "But first, let's leave mommy to wake up on her own and we'll go get started on breakfast."

"What about Andy?" Jessica asks.

"Mom will get him when she wakes up."

"Okay. Can we have pancakes?"

"Absolutely," Grant says with a nod of his head. "Come on." He gestures with his head toward the door and Jessica proceeds to crawl over to the edge and then slide down off of the bed.

Grant leans over Skye and whispers in her ear, "We'll go get breakfast started while you finish waking up. Don't forget to grab Andy when you come and join us. And don't take too long." He drops a kiss to her temple before climbing out of the bed and trailing after his daughter.

"Here you go, Jess," Skye speaks up. "It looks like this one is from Santa." She hands her daughter a medium sized wrapped gift.

"Thank you." Jessica smiles up at her mom as she sets the box down on the floor in front of her. She puts her full attention on the box and starts ripping into the paper, throwing it off to the side and revealing a cardboard box underneath of it. Pulling back the lid of the box, and removing some of the tissue paper, Jessica squeals when she sees what's sitting at the bottom.

"What is it, Jess?" Grant asks with a small smile on his face.

She pulls her present out of the box and holds it up to show her parents. "It's a camera! Just like the one daddy has!"

Skye smiles at her daughter. "Wow. That's pretty neat."

"Daddy!" Jessica shouts, standing up and moving so she's directly in front of Grant. "Santa brought me a camera so now I can be like you and take lots of pictures all the time."

Grant smiles. "I know, angel. After you finish opening all the rest of your presents I'll show you how to use it, okay?"

Jessica nods her head. "Okay." She leans forward and gives Grant a kiss on his cheek before going back to her spot on the floor.

"Think the camera was a good idea?" Skye asks her husband as she continues to nurse Andy.

Grant smiles and nods his head. "Absolutely. I just hope she doesn't break it somehow before I can show her how to use it."

"Fingers crossed." Skye smiles and turns her attention back to Jessica, watching as the little girl inspects her new camera very closely.

.

.

.

"Papa!" Jessica exclaims with a wide grin, breaking free of Grant's hand and running into the lounge room at the base as soon as she sees the older man.

Coulson turns around to see Jessica and his eyes immediately light up. "Hey Jessie." He steps toward her and stoops down to lift her up into a hug, pressing kisses to her cheek. "How are you?" he asks her, settling her on his hip.

"Good," Jessica replies. "It's Christmas!"

Coulson chuckles. "I know it is. That's why you're here, so we can all celebrate Christmas together and have a big family dinner."

"Papa, guess what?"

"What?"

"I got a camera like daddy's from Santa."

"That's awesome, Jess. Did you bring it with you?" he asks the four year old.

"Of course she did," Skye says, stepping forward with Andy in her arms, the diaper bag slung over one shoulder. "She takes after her father; he brought his camera as well. He takes that damn thing everywhere we go."

"To capture all the moments I want to cherish forever," Grant reminds his wife. "Just like you suggested I do when you got it for me, remember?"

She nods her head. "Mm-hmm, I remember very clearly. Sometimes I really regret getting you that camera."

"No you don't," he tells her with a smile, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "You love my pictures, that's why you put them all in photo albums."

Skye rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just celebrate this wonderful family centered holiday."

"Yeah!" Jessica exclaims from Coulson's arms. "Mommy, I want my camera so I can show everybody."

"Later, baby girl," Skye tells her. "We're going to have dinner really soon. So go get your little butt to the bathroom and wash up, please."

Jessica sighs. "Fine." She slides down out of Coulson's arms and makes her way out the room and toward the bathroom.

* * *

"Alright, everyone, time to celebrate the New Year." Skye smiles wide as she enters the lounge, carrying a bottle of sparkling cider in each hand.

"What, no alcohol?"

"We haven't had alcohol at our parties in a long time, Joey," Skye says to the man on the couch. "Ever since agents started having kids there's pretty much been an unspoken 'no alcohol' policy when we have get togethers. You know that as well as everyone else."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," he replies.

"Uncle Joey!" Jessica exclaims as she runs into the room and toward the older man, immediately climbing up into his lap.

He smiles at her. "Hey, little one."

She smiles back. "Hi. Guess what?"

"What?" he asks.

"I'm gonna stay up all night to watch the ball drop," she says proudly.

"Is that so?"

She nods her head. "Yeah. And I wanna get a picture of mommy and daddy."

"You do, do you?"

She nods her head again. "Uh-huh. Like the one daddy took of mommy the first time."

"Well that sounds like a great plan," Joey tells her.

Jessica smiles. "Thanks. And I'm gonna use my camera." She holds up her Polaroid camera and shows it to Joey. "Do you like it?"

He nods his head. "I do like it. You showed it to me at Christmas, remember?"

She giggles. "Oh, yeah."

"Have you taken any fun pictures with it yet?"

Jessica shrugs. "I guess. Andy's boring 'cause he doesn't do anything yet. But I like taking pictures of outside."

Joey smiles. "Well I'm sure those pictures are very nice."

"Daddy says they are. And daddy takes really good pictures."

Joey smiles and nods. "That he does. Some of my favorite pictures are the ones he takes of you."

"Really?" Jessica asks.

Joey nods his head. "Absolutely. And if you're anything like your dad, you're going to be a great little photographer."

"Thanks, Uncle Joey."

"Anytime, kiddo."

.

.

.

"How you holding up over there, Jess?" Grant asks his daughter from where he and Skye are sitting together in one of the love seats, Skye perched comfortably in his lap with her legs thrown over the arm of the chair and one of her arms looped around his neck.

"Fine." Jessica lets out a yawn from her place curled up in Joey's lap.

"Nice try, angel," Skye says with a smile. "After the ball drops, you're going straight to bed."

"Okay." She leans back against Joey, clutching her Polaroid camera tightly in her tiny hands.

"Here we go," Jemma says excitedly from one of the couches, Fitz sitting right next to her with his arm wrapped around. "Time to start counting down."

"I'm so excited." Jessica smiles sleepily.

"Me too, little one," Joey tells her.

"10...

9...

8...

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Everyone in the room cheers loud in celebration, clinking their glasses together before taking a drink.

Grant smiles down at his wife. "Happy New Year, Skye."

Skye smiles back up at him. "Happy New Year, Grant." She leans up and presses her lips to his, resting one hand on his cheek.

"Hey Jess," Joey speaks up to the little girl in his lap, "better get your camera out quick." He points to where Grant and Skye are.

Jessica looks to where Joey is pointing and gasps when she sees her parents kissing. She fumbles for a moment with her camera as she sits up and then holds the camera up in front of her. She centers her parents in the shot, just the way her dad showed her on Christmas Day, and then quickly snaps the photo, just a few seconds before her parents break apart.

"Got it." Jessica smiles, pulling the photo out from the bottom of the camera and looking at it. She hands the camera and the photo over to Joey. "Look."

Joey smiles at the slightly angled photo of Grant and Skye. "Very nice. You are one talented little girl."

"Thanks." Jessica gives him a tired smile. She leans back against him and closes her eyes as she lets out a yawn, finally letting sleep overtake her.

Joey smiles down at the little girl in his lap, adjusting her slightly so she doesn't fall and relaxes back into his seat.

"And how's our little photographer doing?"

Joey looks up a few minutes later to see Grant and Skye making their way toward him. He smiles up at them. "Hey guys."

Skye smiles back at him. "Hey. I'm assuming Jess is asleep?"

He nods his head. "She is. Just a few seconds after the New Year hit she finally fell asleep. She managed to get a photo though before she did."

"What of?" Grant asks.

Joey smiles. "See for yourself." He holds the Polaroid photo up to them, allowing them to take it.

"Jess took this?" Grant asks.

Joey nods his head. "Yep. I was right here when she took it."

Skye smiles up at her husband. "She's a chip off the block."

"That she is," Grant says with a smile. "And I hate to move her when she looks so comfortable, but we need to get her into bed."

"She's fine where she is right now," Joey tells him. "I'll put her to bed for you guys in a little while once she's fallen deeper asleep."

"That shouldn't be too much longer then." Skye smiles down at her sleeping daughter. "She usually falls asleep pretty quickly and is a heavy sleeper."

"It's both a blessing and a curse," Grant says. "But are you sure you want to put her to bed for us?"

Joey nods his head. "Absolutely. It's no problem. You two head to bed. I'll even check on Andy for you when I put Jess down."

Skye smiles at her friend. "You are too sweet, Joey."

He smiles and shrugs. "I try."

"Well thank you, Joey," Grant says to him. He grabs Skye's hand in his.

"Not a problem. See you guys in the morning."

Skye smiles at him. "See you in the morning." She leans down to press a kiss to Jessica's forehead. "Goodnight, angel." She stands up straight and grabs her daughter's Polaroid camera. "I think we should probably keep this safe with us for the night. Now come on, I am very tired."

"Me too," Grant agrees. "Goodnight, everybody." He smiles and waves to everyone else in the room as he and Skye make their way out and toward their old bunk for the night.

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


End file.
